Treasury Secretary Bessent said the White House is focused on the ‘real economy’ and not concerned about ‘a little’ market volatility

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Thursday the Trump administration is more focused on the long-term health of the economy and markets and not short-term gyrations.

“We’re focused on the real economy. Can we create an environment where there are long term gains in the market and long term gains for the American people?” Bessent said on CNBC. “I’m not concerned about a little bit of volatility over three weeks.”

The comments come with markets in a state of turmoil largely centered on President Donald Trump’s near-daily moves on tariffs against major U.S. trading partners such as Canada, Mexico and China. Major averages have moved towards correction territory, as the Dow Jones Industrial Average has lost more than 7% over the past month.

While Bessent said the administration is attentive to market moves, he predicted that both the real economy and markets would prosper over time.

“The reason stocks are a safe and great investment is because you’re looking over the long term. If you start looking at micro horizons, stocks become very risky. So we are focused over the medium-, long-term,” he said in the interview with CNBC’s Sara Eisen. “I can tell you that if we put proper policies in place, it’s going to lay the groundwork for a both real income gains and job gains and asset continued asset gains.”

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